Pandering to audience’s wants is not Karl Fiorini’s style. He reveals to Veronica Stivala his aims behind the eclectic programme of this year’s International Spring Orchestra Festival.
The musical journey of this year’s International Spring Orchestra Festival (ISO) is, like life, an eclectic one, says its founder and director Karl Fiorini,
Not one to aimlessly follow trends, Fiorini is contrary to concerts or festivals sticking to a specific genre, however, popular they might be.
He admits that it may seem paradoxical for a contemporary composer to say so, when the trend nowadays for most composers is to have new music programmes.
The drive behind his choice, it emerges, is to provoke audiences rather than solely quench its thirst for what it wants to listen to. While there is no genre, there is a motif: new works for Malta.
“Most of my programmes were, and will be Malta premiers, meaning that they will be heard the first time in Malta,” says Fiorini. These include Schoenberg’s provocative Pierrot Lunaire as well as Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer. These have been in the repertoire for the past 60 years and were composed over a century ago.
Such a line-up is, unsurprisingly, the result of painstaking work and research. Fiorini starts planning at least a year in advance. Interestingly he starts with the closing concert. With this in place, he can then start planning accordingly to build a musical momentum throughout the festival.
This year’s concert closes with the world premier of his Symphony No. 1 and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade Suite.
The choice behind the 19th-century Russian composer’s work is linked with Fiorini’s childhood. His first encounters with classical music was when he listened to Beethoven’s Sixth and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade Suite, aged seven or eight.
“Their beauty impregnated my imagination and whenever I performed I wanted to re-enact that same sensation I had experienced. Beethoven is God and Rimsky-Korsakov one of the greatest and most original orchestrators.”
The festival provides a platform for young musicians to make their voice heard and contribute to the Maltese classical music scene
Without going into lengthy musicological explications, his reference as a composer since adolescence has been Beethoven. Through Rimsky-Korsakov he learnt the art of orchestration, in particular his influence on Stravinsky and Respighi. When thinking of what to programme alongside his symphony, he thought of the Scheherazade Suite as a complementing work, being a very festive piece and appropriate for the closing night.
Speaking of childhood, one has to mention the importance the ISO gives to young musicians.
Fiorini firmly believes that “what distinguishes a nation is not its economic productivity nor its grand buildings but its art”.
Budding musicians not only need to discipline themselves to become accomplished performers but regularly perform.
The ISO Festival provides a platform for young upcoming musicians who are professionally trained by the best teachers on the islands to make their voice heard and make a contribution to the Maltese classical music scene.
“A young musician cannot arrive on the day for his/her audition at a respectable conservatoire without having in his/her pockets at least a dozen solo recitals,” Fiorini rightly affirms.
Education also plays an important part of this and previous festivals. This year there will be three educational or outreach programmes, two of which are master classes. The first is in collaboration with the Music Department of the Performing Arts School at the University led by guest conductor Roberto Beltran-Zavala on April 8.
The second is a matinee school concert by the Ensemble Télémaque on April 9 at the Manoel Theatre. The last is a master class by Veronique Muzy and Roland Conil which will take place on April 9.
Another of Fiorini’s aims is to expose as many people as possible to music. Who are his audiences?
Fiorini greets patrons at the door of the Manoel before each concert.
He notes how some avid concert goers make it a point to attend every year. However, every year he encounters new faces.
“I love seeing couples with their offspring and music teachers with their pupils,” he reveals, adding that it’s today’s young generation that needs be forged so that tomorrow’s audience will grow.
Therefore, it is imperative that children attend concerts, exhibitions and so on. And so, Fiorini has made all concerts free for children aged 15 and younger.
Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of the ISO Festival. And he has grand plans for this. However, he only leaves me with tantalising teasers: the closing concert will take place on April 9, 2016, featuring pianist Lucia Micallef, conductor Brian Schembri and the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.
There will also be the participation of outstanding musicians and possibly two concerts by the European Union Chamber Orchestra.
This year’s International Spring Orchestra Festival takes place between April 7 and 11. For more information about the educational programmes, email info@karlfiorini.com or admin@iso-festival.com.
www.iso-festival.com